Fuel product and method of making same



Patented Get. 10, 1922.

STATES amaze e curios,

CHARLES JASON GREENSTREET, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

FUEL PRODUCT AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME.

No Drawing.

States, residing at Chicago, in the county.

of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Fuel Products and Methods. of Making Same, of which Ideclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to a fuel product and a method of making the sameand, more particularly, to a fluid fuel composed '-of a liquid fuel andfinally divided solid fuel particles suspended therein in asub:stantlally permanent suspension. v

The many advantages in the use of fluid fuels such as their low laborcost in firing,

their freedom from ash, the exact control of the rate at which'they maybe supplied and burned and the' exact proportioning of air to fuel whichis possible with them and the high efficiency and economy which thesefeatures make possible, have made the prospect, of transforming solidfuels into liquid fuels highly attractive and desirable. This is moreparticularly the case as a large amount of solid fuelis produced in theform of dust, powdered and small dimensioned particles, such as culm,which are difficult to burn on the ordinary types of grates andtherefore have little commercial value. Certain fuels, such as lignite,which disintegrates to a powder on exposure to the latmosphere, can notbe readily Handled and burned in the solid form are of little use andvalue;

Attempts have been made to utilize powdered fuels of the above types bysimply mixing them with fluid or liquid fuels to serve as a vehicle orcarrier and burnirTg the-mixture similarly to a liquid fuel. Thedensities of these fuels are, however, generally different from those ofthe liquid fuels which are available, and the solid particles settle outafter standing for a short time and form hard cakes. which clog theconduits and passages of fluid fuel burning apparatus. Attempts toreduce the coal particles to a size approaching colloidal dimensions,while offering possibilities in. the way of stability of suspension, arenot commercially feasible or practicable since the excessively finegrinding which this requires makes the cost Application'filed May 9,1922. Serial No. 559,600.

provide a fuel product in which solid fuel particles of a size readilyand cheaply ob- A further object of the invention is to provide a,method of forming a substantially permanent suspension of solid fuelparticles of above colloidal size in a fluid fuel medium. a

Further objects of the invention are to provide a fuel product in whichsolid fuel particles are maintained in suspension in a fluid fuelmediumby the emulsification of a suitable fuel-oil and water and amethod of maintaining a suspension of such particles in a fluid fuelmedium by the emulsi ficationof fuel oil and water and of a method ofstabilizing such emulsions 'by' the use of soaps. 1 3

With these and other objects in view, the invention comprises the fuelproduct and themethod of making the same described and set forth in thefollowing specification and claims.

In the present invention the solid fuel is reduced by any suitablegrinding means available for grinding on a commercial scale, to asufficient degree of fineness so that the particles may readily passthrough the passages of the fuel burning apparatus without danger ofclogging. The fuel is preferably ground as fine as is practicable withordinary commercial methods, s nce the finer the grinding the moreeasily may the particles be maintained in suspension, but grinding to adegree approaching colloidal dimensions is not necessary. The finelydivided solid fuel particles are then uniformly dispersed and suspendedin a liquid fuel medium in the quantity desired for the particularpurpose in view. To fix or stabilize this suspension the liquid fuelmedium is rendered sufiiciently dense and viscous to resist or overcomethe tendency of the solid particles to settle out of the liquid underthe action of gravity. This stabilization is preferably obtained by1ncorporating into the liquid fuel a substancewhich increases itsdensity and viscosity such, for example as a liquid or semi-liquid whichforms a permanent or substantially permanent emulsion with the oil. Asuitable en'iulsifying agent or protective agent may also be added, whennecessary to stabilize and maintain the emulsion.

The solid fuel used in forming the fuel product may be any kind whichcan be reduced to a degree of fineness that it will pass through theburner'apparatus in which the fuel is to be burned. Anthracite andbituminous coals, coal dust, coke, coke dust, lignite, saw dust andother carbonaceous and cellulosic waste products may be mentioned assources of the solid fuel. If not already in the form of a sufficientlyfine powder these materials are pulverized in any of the usual mills orgrinding devices used for the production of powered fuels which willprovide a powder of the desired degree of fineness. Any mill whichgrinds to a fineness of about two hundred mesh or finer is usuallysatisfactory for this purpose. The finer the grinding the more desirablethe resulting fuel from many standpoints, but the excessively finegrinding necessary to reduce the solid fuel to colloidal dimensions isnot required. Two or more kinds of fuel may be used to produce a fuelhaving certain desired properties or to utilize waste products which donot give desirable results when used alone or which are not available insufiicient quantities to provide the required quantity of fuel.

'Any liquid fuel which may be thickened or increased sufliciently indensity or viscosity may be used as the liquid fuel medium, The mineralfuel oils which are obtained as the heavy residues in the refining ofpetroleum or in the cracking of hydrocarbon oils in pressure stills orother cracking processes are especially suited for the present fuelproduct as they are available in large quantities, have a considerableinitial gravity and viscosity and are readily emulsifiable. The heaviergrades of Mexican crude petroleums and the residues from the refinin ofsuch oils and from cracking of theii lighter distillates are also verydesirable for the present purpose. Fuel oils of a density of about 25 B.or denser have been found very satisfactory as a liquid fuel medium.Certain of the naturally occuring emulsions or bottom settlings whi. 1are not suitable for refining on account of their water content may beutilized in the present fuel.

Water has been found to be a suitable emulsifying component for oils ofthis type. The watermay be in the condition of purity in which it occursor may have added to it certain materials to render its emulsion withthe fuel oil more stable. The ground water or surface waters which areproduced with certain crude petroleumsare usually suitable.

Other materials may be used in forming the emulsion but when posiblewater is preferred as the main constituent of the emulsifyingconstituent because of its cheapness and its property of promoting asmokeless combustion of the fuel.

l/Vhen, under certain conditions, there is a tendency for the emulsionto become unsolution. The soap solution may be used in full strength asthe emulsifying constituent or may be added to or diluted with Water asconditions may require or the cost of materials may render desirable.

The fuel is preferably formed by mixing the finely powdered fuel withthe fluid fuel medium in a mixing device or in a tank arranged to permitof air agitation or fitted with suitable stirring devices. Theemulsifying constituent is then agitated with the solid and liquid fuelmixture to produce the emulsion, a stabilizing agent such as the soapsolution being used or added to the Water to assist in forming theemulsion when required. Some or a considerable part of the emulsifyingconstituent may be present when the solid fuel is being suspended in theliquid fuel medium, particularly when a natural emulsion or bottomsettling is being used. The emulsion may be obtained in a thick liquidor paste or may be thickened until it is in "the form of a solid orsemi-solid paste or gel which may be sufficiently liquefied when warmedslightly, to be pumped to and through the burner apparatus. When a veryheavy fuel oil is used the resulting emulsion with water or a heavysolution the density is increased to materially lessen the action ofgravity on the solid fuel particles and assist in maintaining theparticles in suspension.

As an example of a specific form of embodiment of the inventionthirty-three parts of suitably powdered coal is suspended in one hundredparts of fuel oil of 22 B. gravity by air agitation in a tank. Two partsof soap dissolved in just sufficient water to make a 'elly is then addedand the whole further agitated until homogeneous. A fuel oilv of 18 B.was also found to work satisfactorily when emulsified.

The fuel product obtained as above may be used in substantially the samemanner as the ordinar types of heavy fuel oils and for substantia ly thesame purposes. In addition to utilizing many fuels which are at Of mypresent wasted it permits of a fuel of any desired quality to be otainedand'req'uires less storage space and is more free'from fire dan ers thanthe ordinary types of fuels.

T is application is a continuation in part co-pending applicationsSerial No. 274,358 filed January 31, 1919 and Serial No. 312,871 filedJuly 23, 1919 to the extent of some of the subject matter disclosed insaid ap lications and also disclosed herein.

aving described the invention, what I claim and desire to secureby-Letters Patent is:

1. A fluid fuel product which comprises a liquid fuel and a powderedfuel dispersed throughout said liquid fuel and of a size at which itsettles out of said liquid fuel, and said liquid fuel being thickenedthrough emulsification to avoid settling of said powdered fuel. 7

2. A process of making a fuel product which comprises mixing powderedfuel With a fluid fuel said fuel powder being of a size at which itsettles from said fluid fuel,

and thickening said fluid fuel to avoid the settling of said powderedfuel.

3. A fuel product which comprises a liquid fuel, solid fuel particlesdispersed throughout said liquid fuel and of a size at which they settleout of said liquid fuel, and amaterial of greater density than saidliquid fuel emulsified in said. liquid fuel to produce a stiff, heavymedium and t6 avoid settling of said solid particles.

4. A fuel product which comprises a liquid fuel, a powdered fueldispersed throughout said liquid fuel and of a size at which it settlesout of said liquid fuel,

and water emulsified in said liquid fuel, said liquid fuel beingthickened through said emulsification to avoid settling of said.powdered fuel.

5. A fuel product which comprises a liquid fuel, a powdered fueldispersed throughout said liquid fuel and of a size at which it settlesout of said liquid fuel, water emulsified in said liquid fuel to thickensaid fuel and avoid the settling ofsaid powdered fuel and a material tostabilize said emulsion of water and liquid fuel.

6. A fuel product which comprises a liquid fuel, a powdered fueldispersed throughout said liquid fuel and of a size at which it settlesout of said liquid fuel, and a soap solution emulsified in said liquidfuel to thicken said liquid fuel and avoid the settling of said powderedfuel.

7. A fuel product which comprises a fuel oil of a density of 25 Be. orlower, a

powdered fuel dispersed throughout said oil of a density of 22 B., apowdered fuel dispersed throughout said fuel oil and of a size at whichit settles out of said fuel oil,

and Water emulsified in said oil to thicken said oil and avoid thesettling of said powdered fuel.

9. A fuel product which comprises approximately 100 parts of fuel oil,approximately 33 parts of powdered fuel dispersed through said fuel oiland of a size at which it settles out of said fuel oil, andapproximately 10 parts of water emulsified in said oil, said fuel oilbeing thickened through said emulsification to avoid settling of saidpowdered fuel. I

10. A fuel product which comprises approximately 100 parts of fuel oil,approximately 33 parts of powdered fuel dispersed through said fuel oiland of a size at which it settles out of said fuel oil, andapproximately '10 parts of soap solution emulsified in said oil, saidfuel oil being thickened by said emulsification to avoid settling ofsaid powdered fuel.

11. A fuel product which comprises ap proximately 100 parts of fuel oil,of a gravity of approximately 22 B., approximately 33 parts of powderedfuel dispersed throughout said oil and of a size at which it settles.Out of said fuel oil and approximately 10 parts of water emulsified insaid oil, said oil being thickened by said emulsification to avoidsettling of said powdered fuel.

12. A process of making a fuel product which comprises mixing powderedfuel with a liquid fuel, said powdered fuel being of a size at which itsettles out of said liquid fuel, and thickening said liquid fuel byemulsifying with a thickening agent to 105 maintain said powdered fuelsuspended in said li uid fuel.

13. method of forming a fuel product which comprises suspending apowdered solid fuel in a liquid fuel by gaseous agi- 110 tation, saidpowdered fuel being of a SlZe at which it settles from said liquid fuel,and thickening said liquid fuel by emulsification with water.

14:. A method of forming a fuel product 115 which comprises suspending apowdered fuel in a liquid fuel by gaseous agitation, said powdered fuelbeing of a size at which it settles from said liquid fuel, and thickening said liquid fuel with water and soap as an emulsion stabilizer.

15. A method of forming a fuel product which comprises mixing andsuspending a powdered fuel, said powdered fuel being of a size at Whichit settles from said liquid 25 cluding a heavy liquid, a lighter liquidfuel relatively immiscible in said liquid and suspending a finelydivided solid fuel in said liquid mixture, the particles of said solidfuel being of a sizeat which they settle from said liquid fuel and theconsistency of the resulting liquid mixture being such as to preventsubstantial settling and separation of said particles from said liquid.

17. A fuel product which comprises a fluid fuel, a liquidto render theconsistency of the mixture such as to receive and hold a solid fuel insubstantially permanent suspension and a powdered fuel of a size WhichWill not readily mix and remain suspended in said fluid fuel, saidpowdered fuel dispersed throughout said fluid fuel.

In testimony whereof, I afiix my signature.

CHARLES JASON GREENSTREET.

